Vanuatu - Universal Periodic Review

UPR 32, January 24, 2019
Recommendations by Canada

Recommendations

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Thank you, Mr. President.

Canada congratulates Vanuatu on free and fair parliamentary elections held since Vanuatu’s last UPR review. We also commend Vanuatu for its ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 2016.

Canada recommends that Vanuatu:

1. Take concrete measures to support and increase women’s political participation, including the establishment of targets to improve the representation of women in parliament where they are currently held.
2. Continue efforts to eliminate gender based violence, including domestic and sexual violence, by allocating sufficient resources towards training for law enforcement and medical personnel, the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators, and access to services for victims.
3. Implement measures, including through antidiscrimination measures and education campaigns, to eliminate discrimination and violence against LGBTI persons.
4. Continue efforts to implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), in particular by ensuring accessibility of persons with disabilities to public places and equitable access to medical equipment and services.

We welcome Vanuatu’s review of the Civil Registry Act, as well as the reintroduction of mobile registration of births across the country, and stress the importance that both mothers and fathers have the ability to transmit citizenship to a child at birth.

Background

According to UPR Info, a non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) that tracks the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, in the first two cycles of the UPR, Vanuatu received 204 recommendations, of which 176 were accepted (an acceptance rate of 86%) and 26 noted. Canada’s previous recommendations to Vanuatu were related to gender-based discrimination and violence.

The Republic of Vanuatu is a democratic country with a constitution that is based on supreme law and sets out the legal framework for the respect of human rights. Vanuatu is a member of the UN and has ratified numerous human rights treaties, including five of the nine core international human rights treaties. Vanuatu has also ratified a number of International Labor Organization conventions aiming to protect and uphold the rights of its workers.

Gender-based violence is still a serious concern in the country. According to UN Women, 60% of women suffered physical and sexual violence by their partners. Moreover, women are poorly represented in the political sphere. Since independence, only five women have been elected to Parliament. During the last general elections of January 22, 2016, no woman was elected.

Vanuatu rated 99 out of 196 countries in 2017 for LGBT tolerance and equal rights. While LGBT activities are legal, same-sex marriage is not recognised and there is no protections against employment discrimination.

In 2006, Vanuatu ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). However, persons with disabilities still face issues in accessing education and employment, have higher rates of poverty, and are more subject to domestic violence.